Wreckage is one of these wannabe-slasher films that is ridden with the clichés of its more successful predecessors, and whilst its not ashamed to try and emulate films such as Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street etc., this is a worthy B-Movie effort that deserves more recognition. Frankly, it was utterly ridiculous but, at a mere 83 minutes, it was entertaining while it lasted.
Without giving away any spoilers, the film follows a group of young people who compete in a local drag race. When their car breaks down, they make the decision to go to an old and decrepit scrapyard to get the parts they need to fix their car. However, all is not as it seems as a serial killer is on the loose, with intent to kill them one by one- will they survive?
This movie was clearly made on a tiny budget, and it shows. The sound quality on the film is awful and the script could have been improved. One example of the poor script is when the group decide to make the one-mile trip to the scrapyard by foot; they set off in the afternoon sunlight but, when they arrive after the relatively short walk it is pitch black. This is a major blooper and the film continues in similar stead, with a contrived plot which gets more and more wild as the film continues. There's little in the way of character development and any slasher-movie-aficionado will find it hard to see past the corny clichés featured in the movie.
However, if your able to leave your intelligence at home and enjoy the film for what it is, there are many positives. For instance Scoot Mcnairy (notable for his performance in the groundbreaking Monsters) who plays the hillbilly part-owner of the scrapyard shines and provides welcome comic relief. In addition to this, I was genuinely surprised by the finales twist and this wraps things up nicely.All the characters are likable and the film never stalls, with something always going on to keep the interest going.
This film isn't perfect and is far below other slasher movies. But it does its job as an enjoyable B-Movie: its fun, entertaining and the twist will leave you shocked. Oh yes, and look out for Scoot McNairy; i'm sure he has a big career ahead of him.This film is definitely not the car crash its title suggests...
